Collective Iranian Culturebase

* Bahram 5 *

Bahram-e Goor

بهرام گور ، بهرام پنجم

Bahram the 5th aka Bahram-e-Goor was the fourteenth Sassanid King of Persia (421–438). He was a son of Yazdgerd 1st (399–421), after whose sudden death he gained the crown against the opposition of the grandees by the help of Monzir, the Arab dynast of al-Hirah.In the year 421, the Romans sent their general Ardaburius with an extensive contingent into Armenia. Ardaburius defeated the Persian commander Narseh and proceeded to plunder the province of Arzanene and lay siege to Nisibis. Ardaburius abandoned the siege in the face of an advancing army under Bahram, who in turn besieged Theodosiopolis in Osroene.Peace was then concluded between the Persians and Romans (422) with a return to status quo ante bellum.Bahram took the situation in Armenia under control immediately after the conclusion of peace with Rome. Armenia had been without a vassal king since Bahram's brother Shapour had vacated the country in 418. Bahram now desired that a descendant of the royal line of kings, a scion of the Arshakunis, should be on the throne of Armenia. With this intention in mind, he selected an Arshakuni named Artaxias IV (Artashes), a son of Vramshapuh, and made him King of Armenia.But the newly appointed king did not have a good character. The frustrated nobles petitioned Bahram Goor to remove Artaxias and admit Armenia into the Persian Empire so that the province would be under the direct control of the Sassanid Empire. However, the annexation of Armenia by Persia was strongly opposed by the Armenian patriarch Isaac of Armenia, who felt the rule of a Christian better than that of a non-Christian regardless of his character or ability. Despite his strong protests, however, Armenia was annexed by Bahram, who placed it under the charge of a Persian governor in 428.During the later part of Bahram V's reign, Persia was invaded from the northeast by Heptalite hordes that ravaged northern Iran under the command of their Great Khan. They crossed the Alborz into Khorasan and proceeded as far as the ancient town of Rhagae. Unprepared, Bahram initially made an offer of peace and submission which was well-received by the Khan of the Heptalites. But crossing Tabarestan, Hyrcania and Neishabour by night, he took the Huns unaware and massacred them along with their Khan, taking the Khan's wife hostage. The retreating Huns were pursued and slaughtered up to the Oxus. One of Bahram's generals followed the Huns deep into Hun territory and destroyed their power. His portrait which survived for centuries on the coinage of Bukhara (in contemporary Uzbekistan) is considered to be an evidence of his victory over the Huns.Bahram Goor is a great favorite in Persian literature and poetry. Bahram 5 has left behind a rich and colorful legacy, with numerous legends and fantastical tales. His fame has survived downplay of Zoroastrianism and the anti-Alborz, Arab, Armenia, Armenian, Arzanene, Bahram 5, Bahram V, Bukhara, Christian, Goor, Heptalite, Hirah, Huns, Hyrcania, Iran, Isaac, Khan, Khorasan, Monzir, Narseh, Neishabour, Nisibis, Osroene, Oxus, Persia, Persian, Rhagae, Rome, Sassanid, Shapour, Tabarestan, Uzbekistan, Yazdgerd